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I am planning to attend the National on Friday with my 8 year old son. He loves baseball and has a small card collection of his own. While we are there I plan to have a Mantle auto ball authenticate (or not), pick up a few T206's for my collection, and get a few packs/cards for my son.

Since this will be my first time at the National and first time in a long time for any significant card show, I would like some input on what to expect, any booths that I should check out while I'm there, or anything else worth checking out.

My advice to first timers is to wear comfortable shoes, carry a large shoulder bag or a pack for your cash, want lists, top loads, plastic cases, and a small box for graded cards. Bring a pen and a notebook to keep track of your purchases and to make a map of dealer booths, so you can remember where you saw particular items. Don't pay the listed price for anything. Many times the dealers will offer you a discount before you ask for one. It doesn't hurt to ask for a larger discount that the one that they offer. If you are looking for specific items in specific grades, make a list of the prices that you are willing to pay. It is easy to overpay at the show. If you look hard enough you will find a few bargains, but it may take some time. You and your son will have a fantastic time at the show, even if you don't buy anything. The variety and quality of the cards is amazing.

I'll be at the show both Thursday & Friday & would love to say hello.

If you aren't doing anything for dinner Friday night, I invite you & your son to come to a dinner that I'm coordinating at Shoeless Joe's restaurant at 6:15 pm (see the other threads for more details). I'd love for you & your son to stop by.

Great advice all around, definately must remember to print my T206 checklist as I want to pick up a few more commons and maybe a Lajoie throwing for my set. I will stop by and say hello but don't think I can make the dinner.

Can you explain how to get a discount to less than $0? I am trying to figure out how to make money without buying anything......So if a dealer offers me a card for $20 can I ask for $25 off? Really poor slobs like me want to know ....

My wife thought the Lajoie throwing was a great card too. Collecting the monster on a budget, I usually only add a couple top tier HOFers every year and maybe 25 commons. So I put together a short list of HOFers for this year's pickups and let her choose which one I should get next. She picked the Lajoie throwing because she thought it stood out from the other choices.

I am pretty excited about going to the national this year even though I will likely spend more on gas and tolls than I will on cards.

Jim- You are going to get lost more than once, we all do, and you will forget where certain cards you liked were located. The idea of a map and a pen to write down table numbers etc is a good one but no matter how meticulous you are, you will hit your head trying to remember where in the heck that notebook with T207 red cycle backs was....